


United We Stand

by DastardlySonya



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Clone Wars, Espionage, F/M, Friendship/Love, Male-Female Friendship, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-08
Packaged: 2018-06-01 03:10:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6498547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DastardlySonya/pseuds/DastardlySonya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alis Snowden is a spy for the Jedi Order and she hates it.  She imagined herself a great Jedi Knight, but is stuck in the Senate gaining information by any means necessary.  Her only friends are Padme Amidala and her handmaiden Dorme until her work leads her to a partnership with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.  Conflict with the Jedi Council, Senators, and the Separatist movement ensues as they work to protect the galaxy, turning up secrets as they go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Part I**

**A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…**

**The Clone Wars have begun, and the Republic is already suffering. Force-sensitive spy Alis Snowden has been dispatched to retrieve a data chip containing war plans from Separatist sympathizer Mels T’Harra by any means necessary. She must return these plans to the Jedi Council if they are to take this chance to stop the bloodshed.**

**Senator Padmè Amidala continues to attempt to reunite the crumbling Republic from within the Galactic Senate. Her handmaiden and bodyguard Dormè  accompanies her and serves as an emissary between the Senate and the Jedi. Though she has never been anything but honest, her dual loyalty prevents either side from trusting her implicitly.**

**Meanwhile, Anakin Skywalker has completed his Jedi trials and has launched himself into the war effort. Despite his recent departure from the guidance of Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi, he has already taken command of the 501 st Clone Battalion. Tales of the Chosen One fly between Republic and Separatist outposts alike. Kenobi and the rest of the Jedi Council listen and observe carefully from their posts.**

**Though they don’t know it yet, these are the people who will change the galaxy, for better or for worse, forever.**

**This is their story.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alis Snowden's latest mission ends abruptly

1

            Alis Snowden hated mornings. They were cold and rushed and generally unpleasant. The whole day was sat looking her expectantly, sometimes accusingly, right in the face. _Rematch_? It always seemed to be asking, and no matter how long she spent rolling around under her blankets, or maybe somebody else’s, the day never looked away. Didn’t even blink. There was no way to win, but it wasn’t like she could stop playing.

And then there were the days that nothing happened. Those started out better, sometimes, depending on other environmental factors. If the sheets were two thousand thread-count, she could put up with a lot. She had less patience for other things. Being dragged around like someone’s pedigree animal, for example, just there for show and bragging rights. Those were some of the worst days.

And then there were mornings that she woke up in her own bed with no current mission, a new one not yet assigned. It was bliss at first to laze about with no one else around to tell her what to do, talk about themself. But bliss quickly gave away to boredom and restlessness and suddenly she was searching for something, someone to take up her time. Because Alis Snowden didn’t know how to be alone.

Mornings were also when her hair looked the worst.

This morning was shaping up to be worse than most. One moment she had been wallowing in a plush heaven made of expensive sheets and pillows far above her own financial reach, and the next she was airborne as someone crashed onto the bed beside her. And then–

“ _My wife is home!_ ”

Those four words woke her faster than a cold bucket of water to the face. She opened her eyes, took in the distraught look in the Senator’s eyes, and got her ass in gear.

She hurtled out of bed, began scanning the floor for her clothes. “Your wife?” she hissed incredulously. “You said she was off planet.”

The Senator shrugged helplessly. “She’s back early!”

“I can see that,” Alis snapped, resuming her search. She spotted her black robe and grabbed it, shrugging it on even though she hadn’t found her dress yet.

A female voice echoed from downstairs, accompanied by footsteps on the stairs. The Senator went parchment white.

“ _Faster_!” he insisted, as if Alis needed to be told. She shot him a glare, which she then turned on the floor. The room was a mess. She wasn’t going to find it in time.

She let out a frustrated growl and pulled her robe tighter over her underwear. “Back door?” she asked the Senator, and he shook his head.

“That’s downstairs.”

Her eyes darted around the room and she moved to a door set in the far wall. The wife was getting closer, still calling out.

“Hello! I’ve got a surprise… Mels are you home…?”

Alis ran the last few steps to the door but the Senator cut her off. “Not that way!” he said. “The servants will see!”

Alis didn’t point out that if they hadn’t already noticed her there after last night she could probably waltz right past them and still get away clean. She turned her attention to the main door.

“One set of stairs?” she asked, and the Senator nodded. She sighed. There was only one thing for it.

“Buy me thirty seconds and I’ll be gone,” she said, but the Senator was shaking his head. There was a rap on the door, and a shadow spilled under the door. “Honey?” The wife.

“It’s been fun,” Alis said hurriedly, and flung herself across the room to the only other point of egress. She threw the window up as far as it would go and hoisted one leg out, then the other so she was sitting on the sill. A quick glance behind let her know the door was opening.   The Senator was doing a pathetic job of stalling, sweat visible on his forehead even from this distance. He waved at her frantically, telling her to move.

She pushed away from the window and let herself drop. It wasn’t far and she landed softly, bending her knees and staying low. The metal tiles on the roof were freezing, watery Coruscant sun barely risen to warm them up. She curled her toes as the chill and damp made them sting.

Once she was sure she had her balance she began to creep along the side of the house. This roof would take her to the end of the Senator’s home, but she was going to have to jump down from there. She peered over the edge of the building and winced. Maybe not jump.

She could hear the Senator pathetically trying to explain the state of the room to his wife through the window. She shook her head in disgust. If he was going to cheat he should have at least had a good lie prepared.

She realized how hypocritical she was being and let it go. She hadn’t exactly made it hard for him.

She peered around the corner of the house and almost smacked face first into another window. A servant stood just to the side and she jerked back to her hiding place. Heart pounding for the first time, she braced her back against the wall and yanked her hood over her head. She couldn’t afford to forget that.

She waited a moment before risking another look. The servant was nowhere in sight, so she extended a leg and carefully began to crab crawl around the corner–

There was a shriek from the Senator’s bedroom, quickly followed by a crash. The wife must have found her dress. Alis shook her head. Damn the dress, she never should have left it.

“Where is she?” the Senator’s wife shouted. He was still talking, trying fruitlessly to calm her. “Sent her out the window, did you? Is that why it’s open?”

Alis swore under her breath and stood. There was no time for stealth now. She ran as fast as she dared, tottering and slipping on the inhospitable surface, past the row of windows until she reached the edge.

It was a straight drop off and she fought against the urge to reel away. It was this, or… she risked a glance back. She could still hear the wife screaming, which meant she hadn’t looked outside yet.

That didn’t mean she could stay. She took a deep breath and looked down once more, searching for a lower protrusion, even just a handhold that she could use. But the side of the building was perfectly smooth, shining in the increasing light.

There.

A market barge floated by a few stories down. It had a wide, flat deck just waiting to catch her. Fruit vendors were lined around the perimeter of the deck, leaving most of the barge free for pedestrians. She needed to aim for the middle.

Another screech from behind and Alis knew her time was up. She backed up a few steps to get a running start and pulled her robe tight. A final glance to assure no one was watching and then she took a deep breath and hurtled into empty air.

She held tight to her robe during the free fall but it wasn’t enough to keep things in the pockets. Her comm went soaring off into space, closely followed by a lipstick and a small computer chip. Almost too fast Alis snatched the chip out of the air and kept it curled into her fist.

She was thirty meters from the barge deck. Several of the vendors on board had noticed her leap, so she couldn’t do anything too fancy. Even if she could, nothing short of a miracle was going to make it feel good.

As subtly as she could Alis drew on her training. She would break both her legs if she didn’t significantly slow her landing, so a distraction was needed. Her hair whipped past her face and she couldn’t help but smile. This was more her style.

She calmed her insides against all adrenaline and fear and carefully, delicately, gave the Force at her disposal a push.

A stand on the other side of the barge collapsed without warning just before Alis landed on the deck. With all attention on the miraculously self-destroying booth she was free to slow her descent by any means necessary.

She pulled her knees up and ducked into a roll, somersaulting through the air until she collided shoulder first with the deck. She carried her momentum through in another roll, then another, until she got her feet under her and skidded to a stop. Breathless and just a little bit giddy she flipped her long blonde hair behind her with a snap of her head, and looked up.

A single vendor was staring at her, griddle sizzling and smoking away unnoticed in front of him. She gave him her most winning smile and rose as if she hadn’t just fallen off a building. She walked up to his stand, still smiling.

“One sausage, please.”

It took him a moment longer to recover. He gave a stiff nod and scraped the burned husk of the last sausage off the grill and replaced it with another. While he worked Alis tucked the computer chip into her bra and pulled her robe tight again.

The man handed her the sausage and she fumbled around in her cloak for money, glad she had pinned her issued credits safely to the inside of her robe. She plopped a few on the man’s counter, probably more than necessary, and turned to go.

She made it several steps before he called after her. “Miss?” he said, and she paused. Her stomach clenched.

“Miss?” he asked again, circling around his stand. He approached cautiously. “Pardon my asking but… are you one of them Jedi?”

Alis took a moment to fix an expression of amusement and incredulity onto her face before she turned around. “Mate,” she said, forcing a heavy Coruscanti accent into her voice, “how many Jedi you know that run ‘round in lace panties?”

The man turned bright red and mumbled a few things she couldn’t understand before shuffling back to his stand. She hung around for a little while, nibbling her sausage just to make sure she had crushed all his suspicions. When she was fairly sure he had lost interest in everything except what was under her robe she wandered off.

She found a relatively quiet place to sit against the railing of the barge. She peered through the bars for any landmark that might tell her where she was. Speeders whizzed by, ruffling her hair and obscuring her view more often than not. She had almost finished the sausage by the time she found something she recognized.

She groaned and thunked the back of her head against the rail. She was far past the Senate building, and home was beyond that… it was going to take her the better part of the day to walk home.

She sighed heavily and ate the last bites of her sausage. She would wait here until the barge inevitably stopped, and then start making the trek. Across the whole city. Barefoot and mostly naked.

She shuddered at the thought.

 

Alis straggled into the Jedi Temple late that afternoon. She was starved, exhausted, and her feet were filthy. She had mostly given up on keeping the robe completely closed and slogged along with a scowl.

She had barely taken ten steps through the door when the Council descended down on her. Only half of the members were there, which she was grateful for. All looked disapproving. She had stopped pointing out that they were the ones giving her orders, risqué as they may be, a long time ago.

Mace Windu stood front and center, which wasn’t surprising. For someone so stoic he could have an awful lot to say. Next to him on one side was Plo Koon, who had always acted understanding. Well, maybe not understanding but he never treated her as his lesser. That was nice. On the other side was Ki Adi Mundi, brow furrowed. Was that even his brow? Who needed a head that big anyway?

She forced her eyes away, determined not to let his massive cranium distract her. That never went anywhere good. Adi Gallia stood by his side, arms folded into the sleeves of her robe. She stared sightlessly through Alis, pleasant smile playing at her lips. She was blind, but Alis got the feeling she noticed more than anyone else on the Council.

She couldn’t hide her surprise when she saw the last member. Obi-Wan Kenobi hadn’t been back at the Temple long, but apparently his return included a promotion. That, or someone on the Council died and they gave him the “death seat.” That was more likely.

He had aged well. They had known each other when they were younger, and there had been a few rough patches for him. Especially the padawan braid, man-bun days. They lost touch when they went on to significantly different career paths.

She remembered more than one mission that they worked together, trailing after Windu and Qui-Gon Jinn. They worked well together. She used to like to revel in the future at night, imagining what kind of knight she would be. More often than not, she imagined him there with her.

Which made this situation so much stranger.

“Snowden,” Windu said, stony as ever. “You were due back hours ago. Where have you been?”

Alis could barely muster the effort to shrug. “Out.” Windu glared, and the bravado went out of her voice. It wasn’t worth a power struggle.

“The Senator’s wife came home early so I had to make a surprise exit. It involved a roof and a barge and unconventional breakfast foods and a lot of walking. You can fill in the blanks.”

“But did anyone see your face?” Windu asked.

From a few paces over, Kenobi scoffed. “Of course they did Mace. She’s just spent the entire day walking through the city in nothing but a towel.”

Windu clenched his teeth. “I mean anyone important.”

“No,” Alis said. “I thought you’d have a little more faith in my by now.”

Again, Windu clamped a lid down on his irritation. “Did you get the chip?”

Alis moved with a flourish and suddenly the chip was in her hand. She held it out to Windu. “All yours.”

He nodded stiffly. “Very good. I’ll expect a full report in the morning but for now…” his face pinched as he took in her bedraggled state. “Get some rest.”

She watched them turn away, one by one. Kenobi was the last to leave, sparing her a final glance. It was equal parts curious and disapproving. She didn’t like it.

He wanted to play it that way? She certainly could. She wavered for a moment before making her decision. She shouldn’t call after him. It was asking for trouble. But a wry smile was creeping its way onto her face and it had been such a bad day. She deserved a little fun.

“Master Kenobi,” she said loudly. He stopped short, and glanced over his shoulder, waiting for her to continue.

“It’s a robe, not a towel,” she corrected. She held his gaze for a moment longer before letting her eyes rove him up and down, all the way from his beard to the tips of his shiny boots. “I think you’re wearing the same one.”

His smile faltered, uncertainty plain to see on his face. She maintained eye contact as a long moment of silence stretched between them.

He broke it with a cough. “I look forward to your report tomorrow.”

She twitched an eyebrow. “Do you?”

This time he visibly reddened. He gave a stiff nod and without another word, hurried away.

Alis chuckled. She’d hear about that one, but oh was it worth the look on his face. She sighed and started the other way down the hall. Still laughing quietly, she shook her head.

“Ugh, I’m such an asshole.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading- Alis Snowden belongs to me, the rest of the characters belong to the SW universe. If all goes as planned, should update every Thursday.


End file.
